


THIS CAN'T STAND

by joli_camarillo, lila_luscious1



Series: VENGEANCE-THE AFTERMATH [1]
Category: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 (TV), The InBetween (TV 2019)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Cowardly threats, F/M, HE BEATS WOMEN, HE SAVED ANDY, JOSH BARRENS IS A SUPREME ASSHOLE and A FUCKING COWARD, Mental Anguish, SULLIVAN TO THE RESCUE, Sexual Assault, beatings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:48:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21707740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joli_camarillo/pseuds/joli_camarillo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lila_luscious1/pseuds/lila_luscious1
Summary: Andrea Herrera's life and death struggle to survive after a brutal beating and stabbing atat the hands of her now ex, Josh Barrens...she should have seen this coming, and nowshe fights for her life, and what comes next.
Relationships: Andrea Herrera/Josh Barrens (past), Andrea Herrera/Robert Sullivan, Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Series: VENGEANCE-THE AFTERMATH [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564633
Comments: 57
Kudos: 31





	1. THE COWARD STRIKES

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Station19writer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Station19writer/gifts), [julrenda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julrenda/gifts), [Keeka_LolZ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keeka_LolZ/gifts), [Diamondlachel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamondlachel/gifts), [Chloelovesstation_19andwentworth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloelovesstation_19andwentworth/gifts), [StaceyGray11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaceyGray11/gifts), [Alynnroe89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alynnroe89/gifts), [LeesyLovesBathenaAndVicley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeesyLovesBathenaAndVicley/gifts), [lovevicley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovevicley/gifts), [Gasnina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gasnina/gifts), [BAUProfiler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BAUProfiler/gifts), [Wont_Know_Anybody_There](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wont_Know_Anybody_There/gifts), [Ripleysgal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ripleysgal/gifts), [CSW1420](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSW1420/gifts), [blindsmarcy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindsmarcy/gifts), [KoalaParrilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoalaParrilla/gifts), [Butterball730](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterball730/gifts), [LaBellaMuerte13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaBellaMuerte13/gifts), [wafci62](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafci62/gifts), [JackBivouac](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackBivouac/gifts), [Bacner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bacner/gifts), [Texasangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texasangel/gifts), [HoneyBun18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyBun18/gifts), [Mangobutterfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangobutterfly/gifts), [4QuietRyt3r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/4QuietRyt3r/gifts), [Luckyshanes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckyshanes/gifts), [fuzzbucket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzbucket/gifts).



> With the kind permission of StationWriter19, the JOSH BARRENS character is based on  
> a story by that author, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE. It's dark, but worth a read to tie the plot together
> 
> There may be TRIGGERS, as this work contains violence, verbal, and physical abuse against  
> Women. This was very difficult to put to in written form

[The 19 is empty except for Lieutenant Andrea Herrera, regulated to desk duty because of the last time she'd displeased  
her 'boyfriend', Josh. Her crime: not uncapping and bringing a bottle of beer to him within 10 seconds or less. Bruised  
ribs, a black eye, a temporary loss of hearing in her left ear are the result of this latest attack; one look at her and Ripley  
assigned her to 'sit the desk' while the rest of the squad answered a five alarm blaze in downtown Seattle. Idly scribbling  
on a blank pad of paper, prior to sneaky Josh creeping up behind, she had been lost in thought, in bashing her stupidity:  
at not getting OUT the first time that he raised a hand, at the being in a position to get beaten or humiliated every other  
day...of having to get permission to spend her own paycheck, or to go out with friends...WHY had she run away from the BEST  
MAN she's ever known...

She never should have let Robert break she and he up. Vic and the Chief had found a way-so could THEY have. The truth is that  
once she became aware of the state of his spinal degeneration, she sort of jumped on that as an excuse to let the budding  
relationship die. Unable to stay at the 19 after their personal relationship ended, Sully transferred to HQ, which would have been  
a perfect opportunity to re-start things, but by then she'd spent a drunken night with Josh, while drowning her sorrows after she and  
Sullivan ended things......he made it clear after that night that as far as he's concerned, SHE IS HIS, and if she ever tried to leave him  
that he'd take it as a personal affront, and that the repercussions would be PHYSICAL. That statement alone made her to scared to try to  
get away (He 'joked' that past women in his life had learned 'THE HARD WAY' not to cross him), and he also bragged that he'd 'smoked'  
no fewer than 20 enemy overseas (he's a former marine sniper: another reason that she'd felt unable to go to Sullivan for help: this psycho  
might somehow find about them, and shoot Robert from concealment while at his office,or leaving it. She has no doubt that he'd never  
face-off against the bigger man: she'd noticed (with a sense of barely-disguised disgust) how any time a MAN confronted Josh, he'd always  
backed down, though he's more than happy to beat the shit (literally) out of a female.

_I'll call him, she decides. He's hurt, probably still hurting, but after I tell him what asshole's been doing to me, He'll help. He  
_LOVES ME-HE SAID SO_...she doesn't hear Josh's soft footfalls from the rear; the ex-Marine still remembers his stealth  
training..._

__

The attack had been fast, furious, and without mercy...at 6-3, 210 pounds-coward that he is, he'd hit her from behind, a chopping  
blow to the neck, stunning her and knocking her from her stool. He'd closed in fast after that, delivering a glancing kick to her ribs, before  
she can get to her feet. She ducks under his first punch, doesn't see the second, and goes reeling to the ground a few feet away. She gets a  
kick to his knee as he closes in, slowing him down a few beats, and she kicks out again, causing a furious roar of pain and frustration, one  
that she's more than familiar with...before he can react, she jumps up and runs as quickly as her injured ribs and throbbing head will allow. She  
can't think; her mind is hazy and her rib might be cracked. She prays that she's going in the right direction. _FUCK! He's right behind me! _...  
His legs are much longer, and though hobbled, his fury and adrenaline are fueling him. He grabs hold of her, shoves her forward-HARD, sending  
her crashing against a far wall...gasping for pain, she slides to the floor, grabbing for a fire extinguisher as she does.__

__

____

__

___Don't you GIVE UP! She clearly hears the voice of Robert Sullivan, echo in her brain._ _ _

__

___Noooo...I'm TRYING..._ _ _

__

___TRY HARDER_ _ _

__

___Do you...Forgive me? I fucked up SO BAD, this time, Amor_ _ _

__

___FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE...SAVE YOURSELF...LATER FOR THE REST_ _ _

__

___OK...OK..._ _ _

__

____

__

_"What the fuck is that for, BITCH!!? That shit won't stop me from killing you and raping your dead body!"_

__

___FIGHT!_ _ _

__

__As soon as he is only a few feet away, she triggers the mechanism on the red cylindrical container she holds, choking and  
blinding the brute, so that he staggers back, screaming and howling, clawing at his face. Andy crawls away, thinking that she might  
yet have a chance to escape, when a blinding, lacerating pain in her back makes the world go WHITE...the blade is yanked free, and she  
flops onto the ground, face forward. From the corner of her eye, she sees his arm come down again, and SOMEHOW, she rolls to her left,  
and the blade only deeply gashes her side. Through tear-blurred eyes, she watches, in slow motion, as the blade descends again.__

__

___  
_

____


	2. THE RESCUE AT 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detectives Tom Hackett, Damien Asante, and Ricarda "Rica" Benitez, and Operations  
> Captain Robert Sullivan, arrive @19 just in time 'save'(?) Andy Herrera

[A couple strolling near 19 had phoned in a 'suspicious person' to SPD; instead of dispatching a patrol unit, Detectives Tom  
Hackett and Damien Asante, along with Ricarda "Rica" Benitez go to the scene. (It just so happens that Detective Benitez is who  
took the complaint from MAYA BISHOP this evening, after the blonde bestie had gotten a look at Herrera's face when the latter reported  
for shift. On the way to S19, Damien phones his good friend Robert Sullivan, (who he knows was once involved with Herrera) and who  
immediately burns rubber to his former 'house' at speed...arriving less than a minute after the police trio do. Sullivan advises them that Andrea  
Herrera is here alone, and that if the suspect is who he believes him to be, they'd better be extra careful. As if to verify this, the police scanner  
in the Investigator's vehicle crackles: Unit 7Delta...be advised that your suspicious person suspect is believed armed and extremely dangerous,  
may be former marine sniper-advise use caution when approaching...rescue and additional back up responding'...]

[The foursome enter the building, and discover the front desk un-occupied (there is an over-turned stool on the floor, along with some  
scattered documents on the. Tom, as the ranking Detective, dispatches Rica Benitez to the 'clear' the upper floor, while he and Asante take the  
the ground floor, advising Sully to _KEEP BACK!_...as they are about to begin their search for the missing firefighter, they hear a  
blood-curdling scream: ROBERT! HELP ME, ROBERT! With no regard for the instruction to stay behind them, Sullivan blasts down the hallway,  
much the same as he did as an ALL-NCAA wide receiver at WSU...giving chase, Hackett and Asante shout 'SULLIVAN!', and follow in his wake.] 

HERRERA IN PERIL

From the corner of her eye, she sees Josh's arm come down again, and SOMEHOW, she rolls to her left, and the blade only deeply gashes her side.  
_Through tear-blurred eyes, she watches, in slow motion, as the blade descends again....I'M DYING, HE'S KILLING ME, she thinks dully..._  
... _I'LL NEVER HAVE THE CHANCE TO TELL ROBERT HOW MUCH I LOVE HIM, HOW SORRY I AM_...with supreme effort, she  
_gathers as much air as she can into tortured lungs and screams **ROBERT! HELP ME, ROBERT!** -she has no idea why she did it,_  
_just that _he is the last person she thinks of, the one person she most regrets leaving. In these last moments, she mourns the life they should_  
_have had, the children hey'd talked about having_..._

_  
_

__

At once, she's filled with an all-encompassing hate, and an anger that this waste of sperm would DARE attack her in her own house. As the blade  
comes down, she finds the strength, from somewhere, to fire her left foot directly into his crotch. Berens staggers back, howling in agony, and dropping  
his knife. He drops to one knee, grunting with effort as he struggles to pick the knife up, and renew his attack. Before he can, something hurtles into him from  
outside of her sight line, slamming him against the wall, and falling on top of him. ROBERT, it's ROBERT! a voice in her head shouts joyously before she  
passes out.

__

She doesn't see Sully pounding Josh's face into mush, or the bruises and bumps suffered by Hackett, Asante, and Benitez as they try to drag  
to drag him away. She does not feel the prick of the morphine needle that Warren administers as part of the Medic One responding team. Or the portable  
defib machine paddles, shocking her back to life after her heart stops briefly. Once she's stabilized, they trundle her out of the blood spattered hallway, along  
with Sully, who injured his back while attacking Berens, and the shit-bird himself, who's in no condition to walk, beaten to a pulp as he is. Hackett whispers to  
Warren, "Your people are FIRST PRIORITY-this bloody tiger nuts, if he happens to bleed-out before he can be seen, we're good with it."

__

'TIGER NUTS?", Ben grins.

__

"Fecal chafe...what you Yanks might call dingleberries."

__


	3. THE ER @ (SLOAN GREY MEMORIAL)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy, Sullivan, and Josh are rushed to the ER @ Grey Sloan, all with possibly life-threatening injuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter has been-re-written to reflect more accurate medical scenarios, because of time  
> constraints, I left some of the original as first written. 100K thanks to JUDOALY, who provided  
> the information I mentioned above

"VALIENDO MADRE!", yells Calliope Torres, as the first wheeled stretcher bursts through the ER doors, and she gets a look at the patient  
strapped to the gurney: "That's ANDY HERRERA!"

EMT Votte rapid-fires: “Hispanic Female, approximately 30 yrs, possible concussion, scalp laceration left side...morphine 1 mg administered  
on site...stab wounds to lower left quadrant and right front torso, BP 150/90, in and out of consciousness...also possible cracked rib."

Own Hunt pulls on a plastic covering and starts barking orders: "Put her in B2..."

Seconds later, a second patient is wheeled in: "AA Male, approximately 42 yrs, previous spinal complications...BP 122/70...broken knuckles  
left hand...deep laceration to right forearm, could be from a blade…antibiotics and morphine administered on site...he's lucid and responsive..."

New arrival April Kemper announces "OH, GOD!!! Is that Robert Sullivan?!! Is B3 open, Owen?"

Hunt answers 'B4', and the EMTS, ER Nurses, and Dr. Kemper go into action. Less than a thirty seconds later, a THIRD gurney is pushed inside,  
Patrol Officer Jeff Conners says LOUDLY, “This is the asshole who did the attack on 19; no rush on Mr. Motherfucker, here!”

Detective Hackett warns the Officer to dial it down and keep cool. The EMT, grudgingly, calls out (in a monotone): Cauc Male, approximately 35  
yrs old, multiple head and facial ‘lac’, both bilateral…pulse thready…appears comatose due to severely fractured skull…severe SCROTAL trauma...  
broken left leg, carotid massage and CPR enroute, broken left leg…OH...BP 70/50...

Alex Karev snaps, “Put him in 6” (under his breath ‘SHITBIRD’)...Levi taps him on one arm: "ALEX...EARS"...

In B2

Hunt: "1 liter of normal saline 'wide open' and 4 mg of IV morphine...'type and cross her' for transfusion, and we need an iStat8-  
what are her stats?

ER Nurse #1: Heart rate 140; BP 80/60, Doctor

Hunt:

Head CT as well...

Torres: Head CT, please...I'm irrigating the stab wounds-no obvious debris Elia...can you clean the scalp ‘lac’, please?

Nurse Barrios: Of course Doctor

Torres: Someone scan her abdomen, please...

Nurse Knightley: FAST scan results, Dr. Hunt...

Hunt: Blood in the abdomen! Call up to the OR, and page Bailey…and get Meredith-if she’s on call, GET HER HERE: tell her  
it’s the 19!

In B4:

Kemper: Abdominal XRAY, and page Dr. Lincoln, someone, please, for an Ortho consult…careful when you roll him, he’s had some  
spine issues.

Nurse Parras: WAKALA! We got a stab wound, lower left quad; blade is broken-off at the skin line; EMTS missed it!

Nurse #3: Scanning!

Kemper: Finish up and page DeLuca! NO-ALTMAN! And we need an OR! GO!

In B6

Karev warns everyone: “We work this like anyone else, guys." (then in a lower tone): “He's leaking brains anyway, so let’s play  
it out.”

“What’s his vitals?” Before anyone can answer, Levi Schmitt yells “He’s in VTACH!”

(beeeepbeeepbeeepbeeepbeeepbeeepbeeep! All Doctors present in B6 start calling orders; the Nurses respond in concert):

GET A CRASH CART!

VITALS!

BP’s falling: 70/50! HEART RATE'S UP and rising!

He’s gonna ARREST!

1 mg EPI!

EPI'S IN!

Defibrillator’s charged! 120!

No change! Again!

Once more, 200!

PUPILS ARE BLOWN!

He’s gone…TOD 0322

(Nurse Maddie mutters ‘FUCKSTICK’ as she departs the bay)


	4. PRESS CONFERENCE/RYAN TANNER (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANDY ADDRESSES THE MEDIA  
> RYAN TANNER @ SLOAN-GREY?
> 
> SFD HQ GETS AHEAD OF THE REPORTING BY HOLDING A PRESS CONFERENCE. 
> 
> RYAN TANNER APPEARS AT ANDY'S BEDSIDE, WANTING TO TAKE HER BACK TO SAN  
> DIEGO-WITH HIM

Andy Sullivan’s surgical procedures successfully resolve her stab wounds; non-surgical staff attend to her mild concussion, head  
contusion, and cracked ribs. She’s monitored in the ICU, but expected to fully recover. The mental trauma is another matter. She wakes  
several times during the night, crying out for Sullivan. She tells the Sloan Grey staff, the police, the media, and anyone else who will listen that  
only because of HIM, separate and apart from medical treatment is she alive. Each inquiry as to his condition is met with 'he's resting comfortably';  
one older Nurse (Backman), even says 'Your Man is gonna be just fine.' Andy smiles back, not bothering to correct her.

That afternoon, a press conference is called. Chiefs Frankel and Ripley,various captains, and all of her S19 mates attend. The SPD is represented  
by the Detectives first on scene, Most of the Medic One Responders, and a few EMTS, also there at the time of the incident. Captain Robert Sullivan  
is hailed as 'the hero who risked his life to save one of SFD's finest.' A local rag somehow gets the 'goods' on their prior relationship, and their  
headline story is 'Hero SFD Captain gives all, salys the Beast who attacked his Beauty.'

‘Captain Robert Sullivan, at great risk to his own personal safety, subdued my attacker and saved my life…he suffered serious wounds, and now  
lies critically injured in this very hospital, as a result. I owe him my life. Also, the Medical One Team and EMTS whose rapid response and great  
skill allowed the doctors and nursing staff here at Sloan Grey to work their magic. I don’t want to forget the Detectives responding to the scene,  
Tom Hackett, Damien Asante and Ricarda Benitez.'

‘Josh Barrens was a dangerous and violent man, whom I never should have associated myself with. After he began abusing me, I should have reached  
out to my co-workers, friends, the SFD, the SPD. I didn’t, and so I bear some of the blame for what happened last evening. Myself and Captain Sullivan  
likely would be waiting for an emergency call, over at Firehouse 19, and Josh probably wouldn’t lie cold in the hospital morgue. Please don’t take from  
this that I’m victim blaming-I’m certainly NOT. I am saying that getting family, friends, co-workers, or social services involved, before enforcement has to  
intervene, might help avoid these tragedies. Thank you.’

Even this brief press conference wears her out, and she is immediately 'shooed' back to bed by Dr. Bailey, where she falls into a deep, narcotics induced  
sleep.

RYAN TANNER

The low volume beepbeepbeepbeep of the machines monitoring her vital functions, filtering and re-integrating her blood, and disposing  
of her urine and other fluids slowly nudge Andrea Herrera awake. At first, like most people coming to after surgery, she panics, not knowing  
where she is. A slow circle with her eyes of the hospital room, and she is jolted back to memory of the night before, the attack by Josh-and  
ROBERT. ROBERT’S HURT-she remembers seeing him on a gurney, being attended to by Medic One. She struggles to rise, and a familiar  
voice cautions “WhoaWhoaWhoa! Easy there, Rambo! Do you need the Nurse?”

“Ry…HI…umm; she shouldn’t have come all the way from California…”

Ryan interrupts. “Why wouldn’t I come? Actually, I’ll find it close to impossible to take you back to SD without coming myself.” (Whaaaaaat!??)

“Ummm…I’m not going to San Diego. My life, my career…”

“…and SULLIVAN, right?

“That’s right. Robert’s here.” She hates to answer so badly, but he went there first.

“I don’t get it! You and he aren’t even together-I hear that this Berens, the one who almost killed the two of you, is who you were with…  
LOOK-just come to San Diego, where I can protect you.” (The reference to Josh Berens passes right over Andy’s head)

“I don’t need it. Also, you’re engaged: remember Jenna, who is WHERE, by the way?

“Cali”

"Ryan, thank you for coming, but you should go home. The only place I’M going is down the hall, to look in on Robert."

“Ahhh-If he doesn’t take you back...I’m saying... come with me NOW-the offer’s off the table if you go down that hall.”

Pressing the call button to summon a Nurse, Herrera says “Try to be happy in San Diego. I’m sorry; I’m staying here. Have a safe trip-‘bye,  
Ryan.”

With the Nurse’s assistance, she maneuvers from hospital bed to wheelchair. When she’s settled, it’s down the hall to check-up on Sully she goes.


	5. CAPTAIN AMERICA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas Ripley talks to his team about Herrera and Sullivan
> 
> A press release ties the mayor's and the department's hands

[Miranda Bailey's office, Sloan-Grey Memorial...Lucas Ripley called his firefighters and Lieutenants here so that all of them  
are on the same page regarding the current situation. He has heard the rumblings and grumblings among the group, and wants to  
nip what might become a rising wave of dissent in the bud before it gets to breaking point.]

"Alright, everyone: the situation is the situation. It doesn't matter how we got here: here we are, with one of our Captains in  
induced coma, and another of our comrades recovering from life-threatening injuries. Stand by them the way that you stood by  
me when I was here last year. BOTH OF THEM. Most of you are aware of their situation, and no matter how we feel about that, we  
pull together. The Captain is at HQ now: he's still NINETEEN. So is Herrera. If you feel that you can't stand by them, THE BOTH OF  
THEM, let me know where you'd like to land. I'll make it happen. Questions?"

"Maya Bishop says, "I believe that I speak for all of us Chief, when I say that everyone in 19, each and every member, of each  
and every shift, stand ready to support our Captain and our Lieutenant, now and always." She pauses, then adds: "I knew what was  
going on with Andy and Asshole, and I should have done something...MADE HER do something. She swore me to secrecy, tried to work  
it out on her own. The bastard threatened her life, and the lives of anyone who tried to interfere. Captain Sullivan would have gone after  
him if he knew, but the puke is an ex-marine, and expert sniper...Herrera begged me not to tell him. I still should have said or done  
something, and so some of this is on me. I'm so, so sorry."

Ripley stares at her for a few seconds, then says, "Who else knew about the abuse?"

Jack, Travis, Kat, Dean, and Vic all raise their hands.

"This isn't SFD policy; it's MY policy, going forward: no matter what secrecy you're sworn to, or blood oaths, you come  
forward with information about suspected abuse of one of our family members. Do it anonymously, as long as you do it. We  
all failed Herrera, and our failure nearly cost both her and the Captain their lives. One man is dead, who better belongs in prison.  
Let's DO BETTER."

['The suspect in the brutal attack at Station 19 two evenings ago has been identified: Joshua Barrens, a former marine sniper  
who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Barrens, a native of Springbrook, Illinois, died as a result of the injuries he  
incurred when Captain Robert Sullivan, now known as the HERO CAPTAIN by some, as CAPTAIN AMERICA by others, intervened  
in Barren's cowardly and vicious attack against Lieutenant Andrea Herrera, who you may recall is the daughter of deceased Captain  
Pruitt Herrera, who perished in the line of duty nearly two years ago. Sources tell us that Lt. Herrera suffered on-going physical and  
mental abuse at the hands of Barrens, and that the attack was triggered by her attempt to leave the relationship. A spokesman from  
SPD has advised this FOX News that had Barrens survived, the charges he faced include assault with grievous body harm, aggravated  
assault, attempted murder, and lesser charges, such as trespassing. Sullivan, who remains in an induced coma, is expected to be  
presented with the Seattle Fire Department's second highest award, The Maltese Cross, should he recover and be discharged from  
Sloan-Grey.]

"Well, grouses the Mayor, we can't very well hang a Maltese Cross around 'Captain America's' neck one minute, and hand him a  
notice of hearing for the inappropriate relationship the next...FUCK!" 

His Aide offers a solution: "We SPIN IT, Sir. We use the fact that he nearly lost his own life, saving hers. The prior relationship  
isn't known outside of the Department. And you saw that news report: he's a fucking hero. We forgive our heroes their failings."

"No choice, do we? Make it work."


End file.
